CITY v TORQUAY UNITED, AT ST. JAMES'S PARK.

Saturday, October 13th 1928.

Today's "Devon Derby" between Exeter City and Torquay United, at St. James's Park aroused great interest throughout the county. The clubs were fortunate in the matter of the weather, the heavy storms of the week being succeeded by a fine, cold interval, so that the pitch was in excellent match condition, and there was every opportunity for the spectators from a distance to undertake the journey in comfort.

The Torquay team included S.T.Cann, a 16-year old Schoolboy International, who has assisted the Magpies in their last two League games, and Jim Carrick, well remember as one of the Grecians in the second postwar season.

Exeter City:- Campbell; Lowton and Miller; Streets, Pool, and Clarke; Purcell, McDevitt, Wade, Houghton, and Death.

Torquay United:- Gough; S.T.Cann and Fowler; Carrick, Preston, and Smith; Mackey, Kelly, Henderson, Hemingway, and Waller.

Referee:- Mr C.F.Moon, of Bristol.

A great number of motor-car parties drove in from the country districts, and the parking arrangements in the vicinity of the ground were subjected to an unusual strain, but under the able direction of a special force of police everything worked very smoothly. Many char-a-banc arrived full of supporters of the Magpies, while nearly a thousand others travelled by special excursion train and arrived just in nice time for the match. The grandstand filled up early, and when the teams took the field there were fully ten thousand people in the ground, and the turnstiles were still clicking merrily. The Grecians, led by Billy McDevitt, were first out, to be closely followed by Bob Preston and his "Magpies," in black and white stripes and white knickers. The visitors received a great ovation from the South Devon crowd. McDevitt won the toss, and Henderson set the ball in motion towards the railway end. Exeter pressed right away, and when Fowler miskicked he let Purcell through, but Gough cleared confidently when the ball was middled. Cann then conceded a corner, but in the scramble which followed Wade was offside. In Torquay's first breakaway Henderson handled to beat Lowton with the ball, but the referee spotted the offence. Next, Streets forged ahead with the ball and drove it across the front of the Torquay goal, but again Gough came out and cleared very confidently. Pool promptly seized on a chance for a shot and drove two or three yards wide.

Campbell Equal to the Occasion.

Torquay then pressed, and the anxiety of the City defence was shown by their play, but Campbell proved equal to the occasion and cleared after Lowton had headed the ball straight up in the air, very near to the goal. End to end the play fluctuated, and when Carrick intercepted a pass by Death the visitors. made ground through Hemingway, who was supported by Henderson. Miller, fearing a cross-pass to the centre forward, held back, and Hemingway went on but drove the ball high over the bar. to shoot, Preston's long sweeping passes to his wings were an attractive feature of the Torquay game, and Lowton was unsteady against the speedy and tricky Waller. In the se circumstances Miller's energetic and thorough defensive play was greatly of value to the Grecians. Clarke at last sent Death away, and he and Wade collaborated at a fast pace, but the movement pe tered out weakly when the penalty area was reached. Soon Torquay were pressing again, and Campbell tried to field a ball from Preston which would have been better left alone, for it slipped through his hands and went for a corner. From Mackey's excellent flag-kick Henderson headed into the net for the opening goal, a feat which was received with tremendous cheers by the visiting spectators, and which came at the end of fifteen minutes' play.
Houghton Missed an Open Goal.

In subsequent play Fowler proved very successful in his encounters with the City right wing, and with the combination of the Grecians all at "sixes and sevens" the visitors continued to control the game. Exeter should have drawn level, however, when a clever through pass by McDevitt all along the carpet beat the opposing backs, and gave Houghton an open goal. To the dismay of the crowd Houghton with a clear view of the net and only Gough to beat placed his shot across and yards wide of the target. Wade was fouled a yard outside the penalty area, and Death, who took the kick, shot low and forcefully just wide of the far upright. At the other end a shot from the bustling Henderson whistled over the Exeter crossbar, and when Exeter took up the running McDevitt and Houghton inter-passed so smartly and so fast that they had the Torquay defence nonplussed, but Mac's finishing shot was a trifle too high. From a free-kick for a foul in midfield Preston lobbed the ball up to Waller, who gave to Henderson and ran into position for a quick return. Henderson at exactly the right moment parted with the ball, and Waller darted in to score at close quarters. In less than half an hour Torquay were enjoying a lead of two goals, a state of affairs which reflected the extent to which their fast and robust tactics were succeeding against a team which was nervous in defence and which lacked punch in attack. Exeter, however, nearly succeeded when one of the Torquay backs miskicked to let Purcell through. The ball was crossed for Death to take a flying shot, which hit the under-side of the crossbar and rebounded. Then from Houghton's strong pass Death breasted the ball down and beat Carrick and Cann in turn to shoot fiercely along the ground. The angle was very sharp, however, and Gough held the swiftly moving ball. The crowd had by now increased to twelve thousand, and excitement ran high. Wade was unlucky with a praiseworthy solo effort, and the half-time interval came with the score:- Exeter City 0 Torquay United 2.

Second Half.
Hemingway fired over the Exeter goal in the first minute of this half, then good play on the City left wing was rewarded with a corner, but Death's flag kick went behind. In the fourth minute Exeter were rewarded with a goal. On the half-way line a free kick was driven well down the field by Lowton, and McDevitt headed the ball across and over Wade's head to Houghton, who headed past Gough and into the net. Twice in the next five minutes Torquay were off side. Play became scrappy, and the ball was so often in touch that the actual football was scarce. Death, who had put in more shots than the rest of the City's forwards together, had hard luck with one that just shaved the post. Midway through this half Exeter re-arranged their attack, Death and Wade ex changing places. The game became desperately keen, the tackling on both sides being very determined.

A Penalty Missed and a Goal Scored.

Fifteen minutes remained when in a Torquay breakaway Hemingway shot strongly and Campbell in saving slipped and failed to catch the ball, which jumped out of his arms and stopped dead a yard in front of him. He reached out just as Henderson dashed in, and secured possession, being then hotly assailed by two Torquay forwards. Campbell in the excitement appeared to kick Kelly, and the referee awarded a penalty against the goalkeeper. Hemingway took the kick but shot too straight and Campbell turned the ball round the post. At the other end Purcell had a clear chance but drove over the bar, and Wade did likewise when a centre would have been more profitable. Seven minutes from the finish Kelly sealed the issue when from a weak clearance by Campbell he returned the ball to the net with a glorious rising shot from 25 yards. Closing play was crude, and the game ended:-
Exeter City 1 Torquay United 3.

Southern League
TORQUAY UNITED RESERVES 0 
EXETER CITY RESERVES 1.

The following players lined up on a firm pitch at Plainmoor in today's match for Southern League points.
Torquay :- Bayes; Brown, Price; Chamberlain, Davis, Daniel; Knapman, Budd, Gardiner, Smeaton, and Edmunds.

Exeter: Holland; Pollard, Noble; Heeps, Mason, Christie; Turl, Phoenix, Taylor, Doncaster, and Sheffield.

One goal was sufficient for Exeter to win, and Doncaster was the scorer. Here is a player who shines at either centre-forward or inside-left, and who has a strong claim to inclusion in the first team. There is a healthy directness in his methods. And other young reserves are "knocking at the door," such as Turl, Sheffield, and Mason.

Comments on the Devon Derby.
Torquay United this season are a team of quick "hustlers," and they succeeded because they caught Exeter City on a bad off-day. On normal form the Grecians, a more skilful side, would probably have won with a goal or two to spare, but today they started as nervously as an eleven of novices, and in the face of the bustle and weight of Henderson, the trickiness of Waller, and the scheming of Hemingway and Kelly, the defence capitulated very badly. Added to the weakness of the reguard there was the fact that the forwards had no idea of how to take their scoring chances. Miller, who played gallantly in defence, and Death, the only forward to show any aggression and willingness to shoot, are exempt from the above criticism. On the day's play Torquay deserved their success, which Kelly sealed with his marvellous scoring shot seven minutes before the finish. The "Magpies" forwards took their chances well in this match, and the team was well served at half-back, where Bob Preston was a skilful general, and today's outstanding player. Exeter's attempt to retrieve their fortunes by a rearrangement of their attack was not a success, neither Wade nor Death being as happy in their changed roles as they were in their original ones.
The attendance of over 12,000 was very gratifying.

WESTERN LEAGUE BENEFIT MATCH.
CITY RESERVES v ARGYLE RESERVES AT ST JAMES'S PARK.

On Wednesday afternoon, October 17th, in a match for the benefit of Western League funds, Exeter City Reserves and Plymouth Argyle Reserves drew, each side scoring three goals. The teams were:

City:- Holland; Lowton and Noble; Streets, Mason, and Pollard (captain);
Purcell, Doncaster, Taylor, Bastin, and Death.

Argyle:- Cann; Cosgrove (captain) and Price; Logan, Bland, and Fellowes; Grozier, Sloan, Richards, Vidler, and Channon.

Death opened the scoring in fifteen minutes, and Bland equalised five minutes later with a long shot, Holland being unsighted. Quick play by the City enabled them to take the lead again through Doncaster ten minutes before the interval, and two minutes later, with the Argyle backs spread-eagled Purcell scored. In the second half Cann made a series of remarkable saves from Death, Bastin, and Doncaster, and in an excellent closing rally the Argyle, whose positional play was superior to Exeter's, were rewarded with two goals, the successful marksmen being Grozier and Richards. For Exeter City Death and Lowton were outstanding, and had the left wing had more of the ball after the interval the Grecians would probably have won. Taylor was too slow to be a success at centre-forward, and neither Doncaster or Pollard were suited to the positions allotted them.